Together, we can end child marriage

Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow. — Isaiah 1:17

Each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18. That’s 22 girls every minute whose childhood, dreams, and education are cut short. All children are made in God’s image and are worthy of dignity, respect, and opportunities to thrive. It’s time to protect and empower girls everywhere.

What makes World Vision Advocates unique?

We rely on God’s spirit and power.

The exodus of God’s people from Egypt is the first example of advocacy in Scripture, and it guides our approach to advocacy today (see below, from Exodus 3 and 4). All spiritual gifts and skill sets can contribute to the work of advocacy, and God’s power can move our leaders to action. Trusting in this power, we give prayer an integral place in our advocacy efforts. Additionally, as 88% of current U.S. members of Congress publicly claim faith in Christ, we believe U.S. Christians have a particularly unique role to play in influencing them, and we equip advocates to employ their faith as they engage with elected officials.

We amplify the voices of the poor; we don’t replace them.

We advocate with authority and confidence, using evidence rooted in our relationships with the poor at the community level. Our efforts are intended to amplify the voices of the unheard, and whenever possible, we let the poor speak for themselves — just as God declared in Isaiah that the poor would play the primary role in the restoration of their communities. Believing that our advocacy is on behalf of real lives rather than abstract issues, and that those lives have great worth and value to God, we lift up the stories of those in poverty. We trust that these stories will move our leaders to make decisions with compassion.
  • Proverbs 14:31
  • Isaiah 61:1, 3-4

We approach governments as partners, not targets.

Understanding that most elected officials enter office with good intentions and a sincere desire to effect positive change, we seek to cast a vision for a better world. Leaders need the courage to fulfill their role as God intended — to be servants for the well-being of everyone, including the poor. When leaders fail to fulfill this God-ordained role, we seek to speak truth prophetically and to hold leaders accountable to act justly in serving this common good.
  • Romans 13:4
  • Psalm 72:1-4,12-14